Tough decisions.

Lately I've been having a lot of issues within my rabbitry. Mostly, with the Hares. For the past 2 years I have not been able to get them to breed, I am almost on my 3rd year of owning them and I've had enough. I am not going to keep them any longer, I have been way too discouraged to continue trying.

I am getting out of the Hares, we are not meant to be. I have my last doe up for sale, she is out of a BIS winning buck and many well known and great lines.

When this last doe is gone, I will be turning my huge 6.5' long Belgian Hare brood pen into a CG hutch. I'm going to put a divider in the middle, so each hole with be a little over 3 feet long, 2 ft wide and a little over 2 ft tall. I'd like it to be a tad big bigger, but this will work fine because my rabbits get exercise outside of their pens every day. I am going to rearrange the barn again in the spring, and move this big hutch along the side wall where I usually hang the hose. This will provide lots of daylight but not too much, and it will open up another big wall for me to put more small breed stackers. I went through my scrap wood, and realized I had plenty more to build more hutches. So I will be constructing new wooden hutches, one more to go on top of my current wooden hutch, and possibly some for outside, although I get nervous housing rabbits outside, so I may just use the wall by the main entrance and stack more wooden hutches there.

I want to have about 10 CG's, and the remaining space for my little breeds.


While on the topic of breeds, I've been trying to pick between my MR and JW.
Competitively I have done much better with my Woolies then MR, but I haven't had the MR long, maybe I should give them more of a chance? IDK, I like having BEW's in the barn, and BEW MR are easier to come by then BEW JW. I also like the way Otter looks on the short coat of the MR versus the long wool of a Woolie.

I'm not sure what will happen as far as my breeds go, but I want to bring in a meat breed, and I am pretty sure I am going with New Zealands. I love those full, rock solid bodies and if I ever want to show them, there is competition here for the

Have also been thinking about Britannia Petites...a 2.5lb full arch breed....dreamy <3

First show of 2010 coming up!

For the past 2 years that I've been back into rabbits, I only attended maybe 5-6 shows total. I've been focusing on arranging the barn, reading up on genetics/feed and everything I could get my hands on. Playing around with some breeds trying to see what I would like to get going with and settle into.

My first show of 2010 is coming up, January 17th. I'm pretty excited, someone sanctioned Belgian Hares in open, which is probably a first here in Maine! Thank you for whoever sanctioned them, although my Sr. Doe is looking awfully out of coat condition right now.

I don't have a big show list for this show. Maximum of 8 rabbits, I'm still not sure if I'm bringing the 8 that I'm thinking of. I would like to get some rabbits registered, but I won't have the $ for that, I don't think, until I get called back into work.

My show list as of right now is:

MR-
2 BEW JD's
2 BLACK JB's, maybe 1 SB and SD

JW-
1 Shaded SD
1 Broken SD
1 Self SB

and I may bring the Hare doe, someone spent the money to sanction them, so might as well put her on the table in her horrible coat at least as a class filler and let someone earn a leg.

That's all for now.

EXCITED!

I am going to go pickup some new "kids" tomorrow, I can't wait. I'm going to get some cages setup for the new arrivals in the morning. My BEW's are finally coming along with a few other MR and JW's for breeding!

I got a nice little cash present for Xmas early, so I'll be ordering a new stacker as well, 8 holes - 18"x24" each for single juniors/seniors. Maybe some new water bottles, and feed cups. More room for growing out my juniors and picking out which ones I want to keep, wee!

We've also made our final decisions as of now for what we are doing for breeds in the barn. We narrowed it down to 3, and only 3. Mini Rex, Jersey Woolies and Checkered Giants. We're keeping the Hares for the breed promotion, but at this time we are having bad luck breeding them and getting new lines to breed too but we aren't going to sell out, just not breed until we get new stock.

I am very happy we made our decisions. We would love to keep breeding Flemish, but they require so much room...we have the room, but we'd like to expand our JW herd a bit more, and I like my Checkered's better, sooooo yeah :P

New pictures of the kids will be up tomorrow when I get them home.

Bitterly cold nights

On nights when it dips below 20 degrees and the wind is unbearable like it was tonight, I throw quilts and rugs over all the rabbits cages to keep the body heat in their cages, as well as board up the main sliding door for the winter to keep the drafts out. The barns walls are built pretty thick, but in the future an insulated bunny barn would definitely be nice!

All the bunnies are tucked in for the night with fresh warm water in their bottles. I fill them half full with warm water throughout the day so what they are drinking is warm going into their little bellies, and half full so I don't have to deal with fully frozen bottles and they thaw quicker that way. Usually none of the rabbits finish 4 ounces of water before they freeze again. All the small breeds have 8 oz bottles, all the large breeds have 16-24 oz.

That's all I have to report on tonight!

WMRBA January 18th Show

I have my show list pretty much all set for that weekend, although the 2 woolies I am bringing are both blowing their coats right now. One is a young senior buck just coming into his senior coat, the other is a 5 month old jr. doe who is starting to get her senior coat in as well. I was hoping to bring these two to see if I could get more legs on the buck and some legs on the doe before I bred them this spring for Nationals. With the way their coats are looking right now, I don't know if that's going to happen, and the doe is starting to go through that junior ugly stage, ugh.

I also have a couple of mini rex picked out for the show, not sure which ones I am bringing, but a senior pair is looking pretty good right now and might make my show list final cut. I'm also bringing along a hare.

I will have a few rabbits for sale at this show. Mini Rex & Woolies.

-Domonique

BEW projects

I've been actively looking for BEW JW's/ND's and BEW Mini Rex. I really love this variety, and am planning to work on it within both my compact breeds. The Hares, they don't get to have a BEW project for themselves :P

I have some really good colored rabbits in the barn that I'd like to get VC's out of to breed back to for BEW's. I have one "old" junior buck that is looking fantastic, his small size, fur and type would work wonders into a BEW line, and he's going to be my main man for this project.

Finding BEW woolies is a lot harder, I think I'm going to do it the hard way and breed in BEW Dwarves and just keep on breeding down the line until I get the correct wool, type and full 3 generation pedigree of purebred Woolie.

I have about 6 rabbits coming in, (not just BEW) to inject some new lines into my herd, my mini rex pickings are running a little slim, and I have some faults I'd like to work on. I have my "secret weapons" locked away in my barn until January, no new bunnies/pictures are going up on the site until their first showings :)

-Domonique

Show Updates

After a little bit of thinking, I have decided to attend only 2 shows this winter. My first show of the winter season will be on January 18th in Bridgton, Maine. It is being held by the WMRBA and is usually a pretty good show, although last year the weather was TERRIBLE, we had a huge snow storm that day and many people left early. I have a few young seniors and upcoming juniors I'd like to get on the tables to see if I can get any more legs on them before breeding this spring for Breed Nationals.

The next show I will be attending after that is PA State Convention in February. There is a Belgian Hare specialty, and this is just a great all around show. If the budget allow's expect to see me there!

Just a few quick updates on my show schedule tonight and that was it.

-Domonique

It's getting very chilly here in New England

Going out at night to shut the barn up and feed the rabbits that eat at night has become quite a daunting task. It is so bitterly cold by 5 o'clock I can't stand it!

Anyway, all the rabbits are doing good, the switch to Manna Pro is going smoothly everybody looks healthy and shiny. The Mini Rex are really doing good on this feed, as well as the Hares, the Woolies are molting so I can't really tell how well it will work on their thick wool until their coats grow back in.

My next show is WMRBA January 18th in Bridgton, Maine. I have a pretty good idea of who I'll be bringing, there are a few juniors in the barn that need to get out and get to their first showings, as well as a few seniors who have really grown up and filled out nicely. Doozy was rebred, hoping for a litter out of her on Christmas Eve. These should be nice little babies so I'm very anxious and crossing my fingers that she took this time.

I'm hoping I'll have a little extra money in the next few weeks, I'll be buying some more stacker cages to add to the rabbitry, and bringing in a few more breeding stock animals. You can never have too many options of does in the rabbitry :P.

-Domonique

Rearranged the barn today!

Man oh man, does it look SO much better!
There's more light in there now, and it looks much more organized and professional, plus I have a lot more space for more cages now, which means more bunnies! We also cleaned out a stall we were using for hay storage, and are going to be using that area as well for rabbits. I think we are going to keep all the bucks in there, or the larger breeds. I haven't really decided whose going to go where yet.

I actually have an aisle way in the barn now, it's fantastic! The main barn door isn't blocked anymore so no more needing to use the side door, we can just walk right in and go down the aisle. I also setup my trophy/awards display area as well as the temporary grooming/examination area etc. I really need to get new carpet squares, or just break down and buy a grooming table again. The bucks have destroyed my carpet squares, they look disgusting :(. Overall I'm pretty happy with the setup, we only have about 13 seniors in the barn now, along with 2 juniors but we have plenty of open cage space for upcoming litters or adding new breeding stock.

I had a litter due today out of one of my black does, ML's Doozy, she wasn't showing signs of being broody. She peed in her nestbox and ate all of the hay out of it..I don't think she took but I'm giving her until tomorrow to kindle incase she's just late. That would be 3 missed litters for me in a row! First a Belgian litter, now 2 Mini Rex litters, and things were going so good! Oh well, I'll have to do some re-breedings and hope they take this time around. A few months ago I was getting does bred and babies in my nestboxes no problem. I know it's not the bucks, because they've both sired litters for my friends with their does. Grrr, it's a very aggravating situation!

I'll update more on the barn arrangements and litters tomorrow!

-Domonique

Before I forget.

I've been told my site tagline is inappropriate where I haven't been breeding Mini Rex rabbits for that long, so I've changed it from "specializing in" to "breeding show quality", to better help with my making things understandable problem. I used specializing in a "what breeds I have" context, which to myself I understood, but to others it came across more confusing.

I've changed it, first step in being proactive and wording things better over the internet!

Time to be more clear with things!

It's been brought to my attention I have been confusing people with my blogs, I tend to ramble and get flustered I know, so I'll clear a few things up I've received questions about regarding posts.

1. I did not buy the rabbit in question, from a BREEDER, although a few people have said I bought it directly from a breeder as a pet, which is not the case, he was purchased out of a sale barn where there were both pedigreed and nonpedigreed animals for sale. I was told the one we were interested in had a pedigree. I spoke to 3 separate people about the animal in question, and paid someone who I have been told was not the actual person selling the animal, I don't know the sale barn process or how it worked out. It has also been brought to my attention there was no record of this rabbit being sold this year at the show. LESSON LEARNED HERE? DON'T BUY ANIMALS FROM PEOPLE YOU DON'T TRUST, OR SITUATIONS THAT ARE CONFUSING!

2. When I was talking about "those reputable breeders will do anything to make a sale" I was talking about the people under the actual show tent, who sold me animals who supposedly knew the rabbit in question was not pedigreed but did not say anything to me about it. Instead they sold me stock to breed to it. I was not speaking of a BREEDER who sold me the animal in question.

3. My posts are more so explaining/answering questions that have been brought to my attention, I'm not nailing anyone on the head for anything, so if you see something that may be in regards to you, please feel free to contact me and discuss it privately. EXAMPLE: "those reputable breeders trying to make a sale", that post was written after I had been told the actual breeders under the tent I bought animals from, knew I was buying a rabbit unpedigreed, and still sold me stock to breed to it (stated above) whether they actually did or not, is beyond my knowledge, it's just what I've been told.

4. It has been said the rabbit I bought was tattooed, he was NOT. You can personally speak to the breeder that tattooed him afterwards, and the other breeders who saw his clean ears about it if you really want to, and the judge that judged him that same day as well, who noticed his fresh tattoo and told me to clean it up because it was almost unreadable :P, not bashing the lovely tattoo artist!

5. I don't know whose pedigree I have, because apparently the animal I own does not have one.

6. Can someone who has a lot of experience with certain breeders and their prefixes contact me, there are a lot of unknowns on this pedigree. This has nothing to do with the rabbit in question, it's been cleared he has no pedigree. Now we are just trying to find out whose pedigree this is and where it came from.



I've been out riding the horses the past few days with Aubrie, and it has been a great stress reliever, but I am extremely sore from it. I'm taking a break from riding to sit inside tomorrow because it's supposed to rain anyway. LYRA didn't kindle....figures, I have a few more does I'm praying took. One litter is out of this unknown buck, they will be partial pedigreed bunnies, no false advertising there :) The partial they do have is a nice one, the dam is a Minnow Lakes rabbit with nice lines behind her, I know for a fact, because she is from a reputable breeder who I spoke to directly when I bought her and is someone fighting to clear the falsifying of pedigrees from the show world.

Goodnight/early morning!

-Domonique

Hmmm.

Upon reading something earlier today, I have to agree with them. Rabbit breeders and rabbit shows have changed since I was showing back in the early 90's. People are most hostile and tend to stick their noses places they do not belong.

Received another email today, apparently "several" Mini Rex breeders said that they personally knew I was buying a rabbit without a pedigree. I find it funny, because these same breeders paired up does to go with this rabbit in question and I was told when I was looking through rabbits in the barn, that he had a pedigree, and the one on the opposing side of him did not. These "reputable" breeders will do anything to make a sale, and if they knew at the time that I was getting a rabbit that didn't actually have a pedigree, then why would they not saying anything and still sell me expensive breeding stock?

Being the person that I am, I will not come out and mention names like everyone else has. It's childish and there is absolutely no need to go around ruining other peoples reputations. These "breeders" knowing that I had never bred Mini Rex before, offered little to no help to me, other than to make a sale. I think my number of years in this hobby and the amount of money I spent on Mini Rex breeding stock spoke for itself in my intent and seriousness in this world, I trusted their judgement and experience.

No matter, I have plenty of people behind my back supporting me and who know the truth. A few breeders going around telling people not to associate with me is only going to make them look bad. Who is a good person to go around bad mouthing others? My advice to fellow breeders, and normal people a like, treat people how you would like to be treated. Would you like to be attacked in this way? I don't think so, you would want to be heard out and understood. I mean come on people, it's a piece of paper. If the rabbit has or doesn't have a pedigree, then who cares! It's not worth all this trouble that has been stirred up. I'll throw the pedigree away and that will be that, I've corrected every listing the rabbit was under, informed interested parties, and that's all there is to it! No need for this BS and going behind backs and handing out bad reputations to people who do not deserve them. Learn the story, before going and making accusations, how do you know what was said to me, what people I spoke to and the whole situation? Case and point, you don't.

My red doe didn't kindle, *sigh*. Just another thing to add to the stress. You'll still all see me at the rabbit shows no worries, these people won't keep me from what I love, and this little mess won't affect me much. I've been at this perhaps just as long if not longer then they have, granted I might be new at Mini Rex. When I was showing, someone of them weren't even breeding rabbits yet. In that time I've built up a lot of friendships that will hold fast, and plenty of people know me and my name in a good light, and I have never lead someone in the wrong direction.

also, this rabbit was NOT tattooed in either ear when I got him, although people have said he was. I had him tattooed at his first show, and the breeder who did it can attest to this, so can someone please tell me whose rabbit I have :P

Take Care!
-Domonique

It's too early in the morning to be online!

Oh well, here I am. I've been anxiously awaiting my red mini rex doe to kindle, she developed a dewlap ever since I bred her and was kind of grumpy the other day, was been picking at her grain, but other than that she's made no attempt at making a nest, but I've had pregnant does act perfectly normal right up until the hour before they kindle. My last litter the doe didn't show any signs of being pregnant, I didn't feel anything when I palpated her although I'm awful at it, then I walk out to check on the rabbits and I see her bringing hay into her nest box and ripping fur out and within the hour she had her babies. I'm hoping this is just one of those cases. I've checked on her a few times but nothing yet, I think I'm just going to leave her alone and stop going into the barn :P.

The boyfriend and I had a talk with his uncle last night after we discovered all the drama going around the internet about our barn we didn't even know was happening until a worried friend called us with some "information" he obtained while talking with another breeder. We basically shook our heads and shrugged it off, stuff gets around the internet all the time. There is always going to be drama within any sport, we've just got to suck it up and deal with it. These people don't know us, they don't know our animals, they don't know our barn, they don't know anything about the situation, other than they might know I obtained a rabbit that was being sold without a pedigree although I received one. We're going to let them think what they want to, we know the truth now, and have contacted interested parties that were going to buy this rabbit to tell them what we had just been told this night. We're still trying to figure it all out, if the pedigree we got was fake, or a mix up with someone else's rabbit. We'll get to the bottom of it soon, but until then, we're going to ignore the immature and cruel "hate mail" that flooded our inbox last evening. Why should we put up with it? We don't have to, so we're not going to. People will always talk about each other, it's pretty much a fact of life. I've grown from the experience! I will no longer buy animals from buyers I do not trust 100%.

I do not for one minute believe we are at fault for advertising the animal the way we did. Kristen from Keep's Rabbitry made a good point. We were selling the rabbit how we bought it and believed it to be. We believed he had a pedigree and it was correct at least to the best that I knew, and I was selling him as such. I was not the breeder of this animal, and I still do not know who is, it's a work in progress trying to sort it out and find out whose pedigree I have and what rabbit is in my barn, but it will all work itself out eventually. I've been told it was one persons rabbit, then another's, and still yet, another's.

I'd like to touch on the subject that just because this happened to me, or happens to any other person, does not mean they have bad animals and are trying to cheat and steal and lie their way through the rabbit world. If that were the case, I'm sure there would be a lot more "bad breeders" out there. People are sold rabbits with false pedigrees all the time. Particularly people who are just starting in rabbits, or just starting in a breed. The best we can do for them is to supply them with animals we know to have correct bloodlines, if the animal has half a pedigree, then so be it, don't fill the other half in to make it look better or to raise the price and get a better profit on the sale.

People who unfortunately obtain such animals, should not be shunned as bad breeders either. They were just as unaware of their mistake as the person who was going to buy animals from this unknown/nonexistent line from them. Neither party knew until it was brought into light by someone else, and as I stated before the best thing a fellow breeder could do, is speak up. It doesn't have to turn into an all out internet brawl of bad mouthing and bashing each other and making someone feel uncomfortable and not want to attend rabbit shows. If you know the rabbit is from your line, and you didn't supply a pedigree, let that person know. They may have some other rabbits pedigree that was meant to be sent somewhere else and now someone is wondering where their rabbits pedigree is, or someone may have created one to make a rabbit look better. I've caught my own friends doing it before desperate to make room and make final attempts at getting rid of overstock bunnies in their barns.

I'm not worried about being shunned from the rabbit world, sure it's disheartening to know there are people out there who would rather get involved and act tough and fight for the "reputable breeders" while making a fellow breeder look bad who doesn't deserve it, but I've made enough friends over the years who will stand by me and back me to the fullest extent. I'd also like to bring something else into play here, not meaning to stir up anymore trouble then there already is but.....

If you're such a reputable and respected breeder, why can you not find it in your heart to respect other breeders? Why not contact people to discuss your information in private, why make a big deal of it and get everyone else involved? A respectable, a TRULY respectable and ADMIRABLE BREEDER, would operate in a much more mature fashion, or so you would think. Then again, what is the definition of a respectable rabbit breeder? Someone who is out to make everyone else's life a living hell, or someone who is willing to help solve problems within their much loved rabbit world. How much can you really love it, if you're putting other people in the line of fire.

On an ending note, the boyfriend and I have been talking all...well morning now haha. We're rearranging the barn, tearing some stuff down, storing stuff away, and going up to 50-60 holes. We're on the hunt for top notch Mini Rex from the best breeders we can get recommendation's for, and we're not going anywhere >:).

-Domonique & Matthew

And things keep getting worse!

I think all I can do now is laugh, because people are starting to delve into matters that do not concern them. Now everyone thinks no rabbit in my barn has a pedigree. *sigh*

I'm sitting right here looking at the pedigree of a rabbit I was sent to by the breeder now trying to sell it, and the breeder is telling people the rabbit does NOT have a pedigree, well, it's on my desktop, with his name, address, phone number, and website all attached stating it is accurate, so who is at fault and worthy of bad reputation here? If he lied about it, that's on him, not on me.

I feel kind of, ridiculous for even reading these things. I don't care if someone is 14, 30, or 80 years old and they've been showing rabbits for 1-5 years. I don't appreciate people acting like they know the entire world inside and out, when I've been at this much longer then they have. So I'm 20, age is nothing, I've had and shown rabbits my ENTIRE life, I have never NOT been around a rabbit or rabbit show.

Also, people should get 2 sides of a story before attacking, I feel very disrespected, and have no respect left for these people making accusations about such topics which they really know nothing about. They read some information, and heard other people talk, but in these situations, do you ever see any of these "shit talkers" going straight to the source of argument? No. And that's the point I'm trying to make.

I may be getting out of the rabbit hobby...

I'm at a loss for words right now. I don't even know how to explain my situation, and I am flabbergasted at other breeders involvement in this situation. Here is the problem at hand:

Back in August my boyfriend bought me a Mini Rex buck when I was at a show buying breeding stock to start up in this breed. I was not with him while he was looking at rabbits, but I told him if he bought me a bunny to make sure it came with a pedigree or at least a partial so it could be worked out with breeding later. He found this REALLY cute buck in the sale barn and he told me it had a pedigree. I had another breeder come up to me seeing we were interested in this rabbit, the "seller" of this rabbit apparantly, and he told me the buck was from very reputable local breeders, King's, Comparts, and Import lines from Canada and that one of the best breeders himself told him that if anyone was going to buy a Mini Rex, the buck we were looking at was the one to get.

I always find it fishy when people don't have pedigrees of their sale rabbits at shows, I admit to doing it a few times because in the rush to get out of the house, I forget everything I need, but this guy had at least 10 rabbits for sale and not a single pedigree for any of them. I liked this buck though and the boyfriend insisted on buying him for me, so he did. I was told I'd get the pedigree in the mail and we actually did.

I showed and bred the buck and he's done very nicely and so far his babies look really good. After getting his babies, I decided I could let him go, so I advertised him for sale on our local group sales list. A lot of people were interested in him! I have a young friend who has recently started in Mini Rex who was online tonight browsing the list and reading through post's when he found one that was rather odd. I'm not going to mention names of posters or my young friend as a courtesy to them. My young friend contacted the poster about his post, as it referred to people in our area advertising rabbits for sale with pedigrees that he knew for a fact (I guess) didn't have pedigrees. Being the nervous youth that my friend is, he asked who he should avoid and what barn was selling these rabbits.

Turns out, it's my barn. It's my buck. My young friend put 2 and 2 together from what the poster informed him of and immediately contacted me with this information. I still don't know what's true or not, because the poster stated we were the ones that bought the rabbit from him, although I know the breeder, what he looks like, his name etc and this was not the person that we purchased the rabbit from. It was a bunny being sold in the sale barn, so perhaps someone else staked claim to such a nice looking animal, who knows what the real situation is because the person selling us the rabbit wasn't the actual breeder of the animal, I have no clue who bred this rabbit.

The big thing that appauls me about all of this, is at the end of it all, my young friend asked the poster if it would be alright that he contact me to let me know the buck I believed to be pedigreed wasn't, and that the pedigree must be fake or some really disastrous mix up occurred. The poster told him to simply pass on the rabbit, and not to say anything to me. This really hurt my feelings in a way, that other breeders wouldn't let me know what's going on with my own animals. I don't want to sell anyone a rabbit that isn't what it's advertised to be, and that was not my intention in this, I believed the animal was pedigreed and that is how I was selling him. For other people to know the truth that his animal has no pedigree and to not want to help me in any way and just let it slide is beyond my comprehension.

I get the feeling they want me to have a bad reputation and fail miserably, because they offered no help. As soon as I got off the phone I was in tears. Not only because the poster didn't want us to find out about our animal, but because someone sold us an animal falsely advertised as well. I don't want to do that to other people, and it turns out, someone did it to me. Which is just terrible, and I'm still shaking from the stress of this situation. If you are a reputable breeder and you find information of this going on, contact the person who is selling the animal! It will help everyone else out in the long run, even the person selling the animal. What hurts even more, is that all of my Mini Rex in the barn, come from this poster/breeder's lines, the very animals that I pride myself on having for those lines, are backed by a breeder who refused to help out another person.

I am disgusted, and this has made me want to completely sell out of all my animals. If I can't trust people to sell me animals advertised as what they are, or people to help me when something like this happens, how can I trust anyone?

-Domonique

I'VE FINALLY DONE IT!

Well....for the most part anyway, LOL! I'm cutting back, no more random breeds in the rabbitry that I'm playing with, I'm putting my foot (and wallet) down. I sold a pair of rabbits this past weekend, a holland doe and a mini rex buck. The holland was the last one left from the breeding rabbits I picked up in CT for my boyfriend, he is holding onto one tort buck for a pet as he has fallen in love with him. I sold a red mini rex buck who had an AWESOME body, but his ear smut just wasn't cutting it for the show tables. I bred him, hoping the doe took before he left! She hasn't been showing any real signs of being broody, and today was the day she was supposed to be due. I also have a black litter due the 22nd, hoping she took, because I've had a lot of interest on my black buck Kang, and he will probably be leaving here shortly. I'm going to cut back drastically on Mini Rex, if I get some good red kits, I'll keep a few, but as of now I just want selfs and otters. I'm keeping the Jersey Woolies, obviously, and I REALLY want to keep the Hares, I love the arched breeds, but I have no outside buck to breed to and my doe is going to be 2 in a few months so I really need to get her bred, if anyone could help me out with a buck, even if I could just borrow him, that would be REALLY appreciated. I'm also bringing in Checkered Giants in the spring, and that is it for my breed roster, for the time being. I really haven't found any other breed sparking my interest, but you never know!

General Updates

The highs and lows in temperature this week have really been taking their toll on the rabbits fur, they don't know whether they should be growing out their thick winter coats or shedding them out! Almost every rabbit in the barn is in a molt right now, joy. Thankfully I don't have any shows coming up until January, so the herd molt isn't that serious.

I sold 2 rabbits this afternoon, woo-hoo :) Ran to feed store...but they were closed. I'll have to get grain tomorrow morning. I've decided to switch grain. The Purina Show Formula just isn't quite doing it for me, so I ordered some bags of Manna Sho Formula instead. I used Manna Sho wayyyyy back when I first started breeding and showing rabbits. At the time I had Satins and Jersey Woolies, after I switched to Manna I started winning BIS's & RIS's at almost every show I attended, once even taking BIS & RIS at the same show. The rabbits fur was gorgeous, and flesh condition was amazing, so I decided to make the switch back. Hopefully I'll see the same results I did almost 6 years ago.

Another note, I really, really want Checkered Giants. I located a breeder in Maine, I'm hoping the information the woman from the ACGRC is up to date and he is still breeding, because he's close to me. I am very excited...I have sold out of Holland Lops, am cutting back on Mini Rex and may sell out of them completely, and am going to be selling the Hares. I love the Belgians, but I have NO outside breeding stock, everything I have is related and I can no longer breed the lines I have and for 2 years have not been able to get an outside lined buck in my rabbitry, so I'm giving up. I tried my hardest to promote and breed this lovely Arched animal, but I'm at a stand still and can't find a way out without importing very expensive animals which I can't do right now.

Anyway, I'm hoping to have these Checkered's in my rabbitry before the snow hits the ground. C.G's and the woolies are going to be my main focus, after my 2 Mini Rex does kindle I'm going to keep the best one from each litter and show them on a very limited basis, I'm not sure I'm going to continue breeding them.

-Domonique

Breed changes in my future?

Checkered Giant, just gorgeous!

I'm sure we've all gone through this, contemplating whether or not one of those breeds out in the barn is something that works for us. Sure the size has made us keep them, lack of space they need, food they consume, they're popular so you never have trouble finding competition at local shows. We've gone through all the reasons as to why we SHOULD or potentially want to keep them, but at the back of your mind, you know that they just aren't a breed you're passionate about.

Right now, that's how I'm feeling with my Mini Rex. Don't get me wrong, I've got some GREAT stock, from some of the best lines obtainable, but...for the past few weeks I've just had this little question mark stuck in the back of my mind..."is this really the breed for me?". I think what first attracted me like so many other people, was that plush fur! I have NO trouble finding competition at shows for these guys (with the exception of my reds), and they sell very well. I like the cobby body type and gentle nature. However, though I do like them as a whole, I don't know if I like them ENOUGH to devote a lot of cage space, time, and patience to them as a breed. Right now they're competing with space for my Jersey Woolies, and when push comes to shove, somethings got to give.

I am not going to give up though! I am willing to get my litters in the nestboxes, play around with the breed some more and give them a little time to warm up to me. I just see A LOT of holes filled with Mini Rex right now that I would like to see Woolies in, and my numbers of Mini Rex are forcing me to keep lower numbers in my Woolies, and I'm just not okay with that.

Sure if I had a rabbitry of a bigger size, 50+ holes, I'd have no problem filling some holes with Mini Rex, but I don't have a rabbitry of that size, and currently only operate on 25-35 holes maximum (for the moment, hehe). Since I've been thinking of letting go of the Mini Rex, this has led me to thinking about what breeds I would want to come in and take their place in the spring once I add more holes to the rabbitry. I am very strict on the practice of never breeding more then 4 breeds at a time, preferably I like to keep it at a maximum of 3.

Currently, there are 7 different breeds in my barn, LOL! Three of them are my actual show breeds that I actively breed/show, the others are mostly single animals of various breeds that are strictly my spoiled pets. The show rabbits are spoiled to, the pets however are allowed to get fat ;D Here are the pets:

1 Black Himalayan Sr. Buck - Arata's All My Mojoe McCool:
"Joseph" I bought a while back at the CCRBA Late show. I raised Himalayans back in my youth days, and the first EVER BIS I won, was with a Black Jr Buck named Rowdy. I'd also like to add that my first BIS was also an OPEN BIS win, boy was I ever excited, I was probably 13-14 at the time. Anyway, I saw the breeder had put a FOR SALE tag on his cage after the judging that day, so I inquired about him, only to find out he was being sold as a pet because one testicle never descended. After I picked him up I just couldn't resist, so I bought him, and he came home to live the spoiled pet life with me & the show bunnies.

1 Florida Whire Sr. Buck - Space Ghost:
Ghost I bought for my boyfriends brother after he developed a fond love of rabbits, and wouldn't leave my show bunnies alone! When purchasing pets, I always like to opt for Rescue's, giving an animal a new, loving home who has faced hard times always makes me feel better. I picked Ghost up for $10 from a farm stand selling rabbits, he was dirty, bullied by his 4 other cage mates, and underfed. He came home to live with us and is now a very spoiled, and FAT little bunny.
(Ps. In the future, I am planning on devoting 10 holes to strictly rescue rabbits and operating a very small Rabbit Rescue. We will rehabilitate, and place these rabbits up for adoption through our main rabbitry site, each bunny will be posted with his/her story and the progress they are making. We plan on charging a very low adoption fee to cover the cost of feed for the bunnies still in the rescue program, vet bills and to help rescue other bunnies from bad situations. Of course, public donations will be welcomed as well.)

1 Black 6-8 Flemish Giant Buck- Wood's What Aye Woodstock:
Woody just never found himself a girlfriend, I show him on a regular basis however. So until he gets a lady friend, he's living the pet life :)

2 Holland Lops:
I'm getting lazy adding names, ugh. My boyfriend thought he was going to breed Hollands. He decided now wasn't the right time, and let me have all the more room for my breeds instead :). His buck will be a neutered pet, the doe we are reselling because she has National placing animals in her background ;D

After a while, my wrists start to hurt from all this typing, geesh! I don't even feel like finishing this blog, but I must!

Continuing on with my talk of new breeds, I have been HEAVILY considering a marked breed....yes I said it. A MARKED breed. Oh they are tricky little buggers to get right for the show tables, but they are so gosh darn lovely! My future breed considerations:

-Checkered Giants (REALLY thinking about bringing in a pair this spring...)
-Rhinelanders (gorgeous, I love arches!)
-Silver Martens (that color combo just drives me wild! *drool*)
-Creme/Champagne D'Argents
-Mini Satins (gotta have a small option right?)
-Satin Angoras (love fluff)
-New Zealands (maybe? I just love that rock solid body type)
-Standard Chinchilla (I like chin...who knows)

That's a lot of breeds to consider, and who knows, over the years maybe I'll try them all out until I find another breed that just FITS.

-Domonique

My Rabbitry first aid kit & the importance of having one

Westover's Glory Boy Brkn Chestnut Sr. Buck
(Gary was another really nice rabbit from Brenda Westover. He had a head to die for and the thickest, most correctly shaped ears I have to this day, ever seen on a Jersey Wooly. He never had the 10% body color to be shown, and he developed a lot of health problems later on so I never bred him. He was a true sweetheart, and a handsome boy.)

GC Westover's Shalinka REW Sr. Doe - 3 Legs all for BOB
(Shelly was a REALLY nicely typed doe from Brenda Westover I had a year ago, I regretfully sold her because I thought I was going to get out of the breed with an at that time lack of Jersey Wooly stock available, I'm really kicking myself for that one -.- I have a blue buck right now that I know would have produced VERY nicely with her...*sigh*)

This post is really for ANYONE who raises any type of livestock, and also for the every day person who doesn't own an animal! A first aid kit is always an ESSENTIAL in any home/barn/office/work space. You never know when something is going to go wrong, or when someone is going to get sick or injured.

I can not stress enough the importance of keeping one in your rabbitry. I wouldn't own animals if I didn't have a first aid kit handy. All sorts of things from the simple weepy eye to the more serious enteritis, coccidiosis or gaping wounds could pop up at any moment when you're least expecting it, and the least you can do, is be prepared!

My First Aid kit MUST HAVES & estimated cost of each item: (I purchase my first aid essentials from KW Cages & Equipment)

• Wormer $4.99: Ok, so this really isn't a FIRST AID must have, but I worm all my rabbits on a yearly basis. Roundworms & pinworms can do harm, soaking up the goods of your expensive grain that the rabbits are ingesting, and denying your animal the nutritional benefits and robbing them of much needed body condition and weight.
• Penicillin G Drops $5.99: This is an oil based formula that can be directly applied to spots of infection such as vent disease and can be used in the treatment of wry neck.
• Mycin Nose Drops $6.99: Aids in the treatment of Pasturella Multocida and helps relieve symptoms such as snuffles and respiratory problems. This is an absolute must have for me, I have known people who have lost rabbits to this disease. It's very deadly, and must be treated ASAP upon detection. It is also highly contagious. You apply this directly to the nostrils of your rabbits.
• Sure-Clot Styptic Powder $6.19: Helps stop bleeding from the tattooing process, short cut nails, scrapes or punctures etc.
• Pennicillian G 100cc Injectable form $12.95: This is the injectable antibiotic form of the oil based drops. The drops help relieve infection symptoms, while this aids in CURING the actual infection. Great for Pasturella Multocida, Snuffles, Mastitis, Metritis, Abscesses etc.
  
• Bene-Bac PetGel $6.99: Given orally, this paste helps cut loses due to Enteritis. Use during times you can expect when numbers of beneficial intestinal bacteria will be low i.e., weaning, post weaning, after shipping, or during & following antibiotic therapy.
• Acid Pak 4-Way $6.49: A supplement source of live,naturally occurring microorganisms, acidifiers, electrolytes and enzymes. A water soluble alternative to Bene-Bac PetGel. Cuts loses to Enteritis.
• Vital vitamins & electrolytes $3.89: Helps to combat stress and encourage appetite in rabbits off feed while providing them the essential vitamins they need. Great for show rabbits who are subjected to traveling long distances such as ARBA conventions and rabbits being shipped.
• Nutrical $6.89: A paste given to sick rabbits who have gone off feed. Filled with essential nutrients to keep them sustained until they regain their appetite.
• Oxbow Critical Care $8.99 (5oz pouch): A complete syringe feeding formula for convalescing rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas and other small herbivores. For lack of appetite due to illness, post surgical recovery or pain. (This is for the more serious reasons as to why a rabbit would go off feed, I suggest the above 2 formulas for rabbits recently off feed due to stress such as ARBA conventions etc, save this one for the more serious stuff).
• Sulfadimethoxine Solution $17.99 (8oz liquid): Helps to control/eliminate the Coccidia bacteria which causes Coccidiosis.
• Dri-Tail $3.99: For the treatment of diarrhea/scours.
• Syringes w/needles $.50-$.65 ea: I keep 3cc and 1cc syringes with needles on hand at all time in case I have a rabbit that needs antibiotic injections. 3cc is used to administer a larger dose, while the 1 cc is for low doses. I keep 3 of each size on hand.
• Curve Tip Syringe w/o needle $1 ea: Used to force feed. I would use this to administer the Oxbox Critical Care formula. I keep 3 on hand.
• Bandages, gauze, rags, rubbing alcohol, bag balm salve etc: All the basics for cleaning up cuts/runny eyes, cleaning ears before/after tattooing and treatment of sore hocks.

It's also important to quarantine any animals who are extremely sick that carry contagious infections and administer proper treatment or dispose of the animal humanely. I also keep old bath towels or beach towels I no longer use on hand in the case of a stressed animal off it's feed, I can throw a towel over their cage to make them feel more secure and thus help in regaining their appetite.

-Domonique
www.northrunswild.webs.com

ps to make my blogs more interesting to look at, I posted photos of rabbits I used to have!

Excited!

ARCHIE - Red Sr. Buck

For those of you who don't know, I started breeding/showing Mini Rex rabbits of August this year. I have fallen in love with their type, fur and gentle yet quirky personalities. There is never a lack of breed competition on the show table in my area, although there is a lack of competition within certain varieties, and I decided I wanted to have one of the hardest varieties to find competition for in my area, REDS!

The last show I attended, there were only 4 in the whole variety, and 2 breeders. Myself & Sarah Brady of Lazee Bunny Farms. So, wanting to get more of this variety into circulation, I bred my pair of reds first, and my first litter is due November 17th, 1 week and 3 days away! I am however, a little skeptical if my doe took....

Shortly after I bred her, she somehow sustained an injury to her left hind leg and wasn't using it and it was awkwardly cocked in towards her stomach. I took her to the vets, and have had her on an anti-inflammatory medication for about a week now, she seems to be doing BETTER, but not 100%, and she is showing no signs of being broody. I'm wondering if this is because of her injury and she either reabsorbed the kits or just isn't being broody because of the injury, or if she just didn't take.

I'm hoping she took, the buck I paired her to is REALLY nice. What a deep, smooth body on him, and very even, consistent length/density of fur. He is a little smutty, because he is a black based red, but Lyra is a chocolate based red so I should get more chocolate based red kits out of the breeding.

Fingers crossed I'll have red babies in the nestbox next week! And then a black litter to follow 5 days later!

-Domonique
www.northrunswild.webs.com

Future Plans

I've been thinking lately, and I like the setup of my rabbitry at the time being. Along one wall underneath a high ventilation window I have 3 stackers of 3 holes totaling 9 holes along that wall. directly across from there I have the 3 large Belgian/Flemish kennels. Next to the Belgian cages I have a 6 hole stack. Then by the hay stall under the stairs to the attic there is a single kennel containing my boyfriends brothers Florida White buck. Totaling 18 holes in all at the time being. I REALLY like the cages I bought from Maine Cage Factory. They are of very good quality and look very nice in the barn.

But things could be better!

Ideally I'd like to get a spare stall in the barn cleaned out and house the rabbits in there along the 2 side walls and the back wall. I'd also like to convert all the cages over to the MCF cages in stacks. At the current time all the single seniors/juniors are housed in 18"x24" cages, which is fine.
My smaller breed brood does are kept in 24"x24" cages, which works, but ideally I'd like to get bigger holes for the brood does.

If I could have it perfectly the way I wanted it right now, I'd have all single seniors/juniors in 24"x24" cages and small breed brood does in 24"x30-36" cages. The large breeds I keep in those all wire dog kennels you can buy at pet stores, because realistically they are cheaper then having ACTUAL rabbit cages made in the sizes they need and they are easier to clean and have a longer life span then wooden hutches.

By the summer I'd like to get all the rabbits into the horse stall, whether or not I have all the cages converted over to MCF cages at that time. AND, ideally, this is how many holes I'd have in each size:

24x30-36 small breed brood cages: 2 stacks of 3 holes, 6 holes total. Or maybe just a single stack of 3 holes would work, I don't breed too many does at once.
24x24 small breed single senior/junior cages: 8 stacks of 3 holes, 21 holes total.
large breed single kennels: 6
large breed brood cages/kennels: 2

totaling about 33 holes, I'd add a few extra for a total of 35. Right now, 35 is the maximum # of holes I'd like to work with, it's not TOO small, and not too big. It gives me enough space limitation to prevent me from keeping too many juniors and buying too much brood stock. 35 is my ideal, and I'm hoping to have it by summer :)

Wish me luck,
-Domonique
www.northrunswild.webs.com

Breed Nationals & Leg Injuries.

KANG - Black Jr Buck: Current Herd Sire


So I've been thinking....thinking about attending Mini Rex nationals this May. By the time they arrive all of my animals will be Senior, which is fine with me because I have 2 litters due out of my best stock, and I'm REALLY looking forward to them. I'll have some time to show them as juniors before nationals arrive and get an idea of who I should bring and who I should leave home.

If all goes well, I'll be taking my now junior black buck Kang who will be senior by the time of nationals. He is looking better and better every day. He is now 4 months old, and still as tiny as ever.

On another note...my red brood doe Lyra somehow injured her leg and hasn't been using it. Took her to the vet about a week ago and there are no breaks or fractures, not even a dislocation, we think she may have torn some ligaments in her leg perhaps. I have her on an anti-inflammatory and I'm hoping she's feeling better soon, she has a litter due the 17th and I'd hate for her to kindle with a sore leg.

*sigh*

-Domonique

Fall & Bunnies

The weather here has been SO nice! The rabbits have been out in their exercise pens almost every single day for hours at a time. I rotate them out throughout the day, I have 6 pens and rotate the rabbits about every 2 hours or so, they have really been enjoying themselves and the exercise is really working wonders on their flesh condition.

I am a firm believer of letting a rabbit get exercise. Their cages in the barn are like their "stalls", they're never in them for 24 hours straight.

I feed in the morning at 10am and give them 2 hours to clean up their grain, munch on some hay and let their little bellies digest it all, then at noon time I start putting them outside in front of the barn in their exercise pens. I usually put the anxious juniors out first, they're so full of energy and ready to get outside as soon as I walk in the barn. While I have the bigger rabbits (hares & flemish) outside, I let some of the woolies and mini rexes stretch their legs in the bigger cages while they wait their turn to get some sunshine. All my large breeds are on solid flooring, and the mini rexes really love to flop around and roll in the shavings of their pens. I'm constantly moving rabbits around like this during the day, it makes for a happier, healthy bunny! Although it becomes a chore to rotate 20+ rabbits in and out of the barn, it's definitely worth it. As my rabbitry grows I've been purchasing bigger cages for the smaller breeds. Typically I've had them in 18x24 cages which suits them just fine, but as I have more and more rabbits and less and less time to spend rotating them ALL out throughout the day, I've bumped up to housing them in 24x24 cages that way if they don't get outside a couple days in a row they still have ample room to run around. Not every rabbit gets out EVERY day. Some rabbits go out one day and stay in the next while the ones that were inside the previous day go outside. I've worked this routine in for when I don't have time to be out in the barn rotating rabbits.

All in all life is good at the rabbitry this month! My belgian hare senior doe Annabelle missed...I'll have to rebreed her and hope for babies this time (fingers crossed). I got 2 mini rex does bred this past week. Lyra a red doe and Doozy a black doe with smooth, smooth, smooth HQ's and fur to die for. So dense, black and SHINY! I've never seen a mini rex with such a shiny coat before, the feed switch over has worked wonders, even my slow growing Flemish are getting their coats in earlier and man are they looking good! I'm very excited about the litters from these 2 does, this is the first time I've used my black junior buck Kang in a breeding, he has been a little pistol on the show table! The judges DROOL over him. The pairing with Doozy has me very anxious for babies in my nestboxes! I also decided to go ahead and use a red buck Archie with my doe Lyra. Initially I wasn't going to breed these two rabbits together because they both have a bit longer ear then I like on my mini rex. Archie's type however balances out Lyra's weak spots and if anything I'll get some nicely typed reds, I can work with the ear size later.

This has been a long post, phew. I'll post updates and new pictures of the rabbits as soon as I can get a new camera. A lot of my mini rex's have hit their senior ages and weights since I last took their photos, and they are looking GOOD. More to come soon!